KUALA LUMPUR, July 5 — The International Air Transport Association (IATA) reported that global air cargo continued to show weak market conditions in May 2023.
It said global demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometres (CTKs), fell 5.2 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y).
Meanwhile, capacity, as measured by available CTKs, rose 14.5 per cent, primarily driven by belly capacity, which increases as demand in the passenger business recovers.
Capacity is now 5.9 per cent above May 2019 or pre-pandemic levels, IATA said in a statement today.
IATA director-general Willie Walsh said trading conditions for air cargo continue to be challenging amid a fall in demand and several economic indicators pointing towards weakness.
“The second half of the year, however, should bring some improvements. As inflation moderates in many markets, it is widely expected that central bank rate hikes will taper.
“This should help stimulate economic activity with a positive impact on demand for air cargo,” he said.
Regionally, IATA data showed Asia-Pacific airlines’ air cargo volumes decreasing by 3.3 per cent in May 2023 compared to the same month in 2022.
This was a decrease in performance compared to April (-0.3 per cent), mainly due to the stronger annual contraction in international air cargo demand from -3.5 per cent in April to -6.4 per cent in May.
Available capacity in the region increased by 38.3 per cent compared to May 2022, as more belly capacity came online from the passenger side of the business.
Meanwhile, North American carriers saw the weakest performance of all regions for the third consecutive month with an 8.1 per cent decrease in cargo volumes in May 2023 y-o-y.
Nevertheless, May recorded a slight improvement in performance compared to April (-12.4 per cent).
IATA said the European carriers experienced a 6.7 per cent decrease in cargo volumes in May 2023, compared to the same month in 2022, an improvement in performance compared to April’s -7.7 per cent), due in part to the smaller annual contraction in international CTKs on the Europe-Middle East trade lane, from -4.7 per cent in April to -2.9 per cent in May.
The Middle Eastern carriers registered a 3.1 per cent y-o-y decline in cargo volumes in May 2023, an improvement in performance compared to the previous month of -6.7 per cent.
— Bernama
